After more than two decades of service, Palo Alto Fire Deputy Chief Catherine Capriles concluded her career with the city Friday.
Capriles joined the city in 1994 and gradually climbed up the management ladder, becoming a captain in 2007 and a deputy chief in 2012. Over the last two years, she has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the city after Fire Chief Eric Nickel suspended her for taking a department firetruck to Mountain View, where she lives, reportedly without proper authorization.
The incident spurred a successful appeal from Capriles, in which a judge overturned the suspension, followed by a "fact-finding" statement from City Manager James Keene, who upheld the original suspension. Capriles then sued the city to challenge that decision.